GREENBELT, Md., May 20, 2013—Orbit Logic has signed a Phase II SBIR contract sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for the development of a flexible and scalable architecture for mission planning in onboard flight software. The modular design conceived by Orbit Logic during its Phase I work is flexible to support limited or extensive onboard automation for planning decisions. As part of the new Phase II contract, Orbit Logic will develop a fully functional flight software prototype of the system. While the Phase II prototype will implement specific sample modules, the architecture supports the implementation of autonomous onboard agents for any type of planning function.

Mission planning, scheduling, collection planning and tasking have traditionally been performed on the ground, with the resulting plans transmitted to the satellite for execution. Moving the decision-making to the satellite enables more agile response to changing events and environments. “We are not just creating a mission-specific flight software planner.” said Alex Herz, president of Orbit Logic. “We are developing a scalable and flexible flight software architecture that will support the implementation of onboard planning for any mission.”

Orbit Logic will be working with Emergent Space Technologies and PnP Innovations (PnPI) on this effort. Emergent and PnPI will leverage experience with onboard flight software and real-time ground command & control software to support a quick start to the project and help ensure successful prototype development.

Orbit Logic Inc. (www.orbitlogic.com), located in Greenbelt, MD, is a leader in advanced mission planning and scheduling solutions for the aerospace and geo-intelligence communities. Orbit Logic’s suite of COTS mission planning software products includes: STK/Scheduler™, Collection Planning and Analysis Workstation (CPAW), the web-based Collection Feasibility Tool (CFT), and the Sibyl App for mobile devices. Orbit Logic product and system offerings are supported by comprehensive engineering services for all program phases, and a technical team ready to support customer-unique needs.

Emergent, headquartered in Greenbelt, MD, specializes in the research, development, and application of advanced GN&C, and software technologies for multi-spacecraft missions. Customers include NASA, DARPA, Air Force and ORS. Emergent has additional offices in Denver and Colorado Springs, CO; Houston and Austin, TX; and Albuquerque, NM. For more information on Emergent, please go to www.emergentspace.com.

PnP Innovations provides the hardware components and software modules to enable users to rapidly develop modular Plug and Play (PnP) satellites. This modular PnP is based upon research and standards originated by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The Space Plug and Play Avionics (SPA) Standards have evolved from workshops led by AFRL, and have included representatives from industry, academia and government. A modular based approach to designing and building satellites offers a considerable cost and assembly time advantage, when compared to traditional satellite architectures. This modular approach to designing and building satellites is a key technology to rapidly deployable tactical satellites. For more information about PnPI, please go to www.pnpinnovations.com.